UGC creator program tactics

Register a benefit-named domain used only in the agency's organic videos (flightcheatcode.com for Jetpack; buyabusiness.com / buythebusinessyouwant.com for SMB Market) that redirects straight to the app/App Store. Separates organic creator traffic from paid ads, other agencies and in-house creators running at the same time, and is easier to remember than an unknown brand name. Used only for brands without a well-known or viral name (not needed for e.g. Polymarket). Tested on a couple of apps; SMB Market's domain went live a few weeks before the episode.

When a creator video reaches 10-20K views with at least 3% engagement, tell the creator to double down: repost the exact same video a few more times, and/or reshoot it in the same kitchen with the same script, changing only the spoken hook and text hook. Keep going while the reposts clear 10K views. Rationale: comparable videos differ mostly by timing and volume (Marilyn's 6.9M-view video was no better than a sibling video from another creator).

Finds most creators by scrolling and DMing people already making content just for fun: 'Hey, do you want to do some paid content work?' (marketplaces are the easier alternative). Pays no more than ~$20 per video in ~90% of cases. Keeps costs low by making it zero-research: creators open a sheet of formats with exact instructions; each brief is checked for 'any room for confusion or is it stupid simple?' Communicates with creators on WhatsApp; tracks views with Shortimize.

When a creator says they can 'easily get a million views', agree and add a minimum view clause a couple hundred thousand below that (e.g. 800K, or 700K after checking their page), framed as 'just for our safety' and 'so it's not stressful for you'. Payment is tied to hitting the floor each month. Check their actual numbers first so the floor is realistic and hit every month.

Started with ~5 marketing assistants, grew to ~25, each pushed to contact 100 influencers a day (~2,000/day; real output 40-70 on bad days). Assistants hired through an outside staffing company. Outreach is by email, not DMs (DMs are rate-limited and work mainly with a big personal brand). Creators in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain; not picky as long as the creator could fit the app into their video at a decent CPM. Assistants send a Calendly link for a manager call; managers close. Signing goals of 50+, later 100 creators a month. Funnel: ~10% reply, a few book a call, ~1 in 1,000 signs. Outreach tracked in an internal system.

Message signed creators monthly: 'Do any of your friends want brand deals?' Pay ~$100-200 to the creator if a referred friend signs. Referred creators send a personal phone number, so you call the influencer directly, sometimes bypassing their management.

First month budget $2-4K. Each creator gets a guaranteed base retainer of $600-800 for 30-60 videos (roughly daily or twice-daily posts) plus a $1-2 CPM view bonus. Leave the bonus uncapped so viral videos pay off, or cap it to guarantee profitability. The single goal of month one is finding content-market fit.

When analytics show content-market fit, source more creators from the marketplace or revisit passed-over applicants, do a 5-10 minute call explaining how the campaign is going and why it is scaling, assign them and add them to the group chat. About 90% of the creator cohort posts the winning format; ~10% (usually 1-2 creators) keep testing new formats so a replacement is ready if the winner saturates. Creators on view bonuses put in extra effort once they see the format work.

Once an organic video passes ~5% engagement rate, put spend behind it on Meta (SideShift runs Meta primarily, for its B2B product). Start around $100/day total across the winners (e.g. ~$33 each for 3 videos) for the first 14 days, adjusted for trial length. Track trial starts and conversions via UTM links. If ROAS is positive (e.g. $200 in, $400 out), step up to $300/day, then $1,000/day; if you get 75 cents per dollar, stop. Start paid only after organic content-market fit and once total marketing budget exceeds ~$10K/month.

Trial month: 1 feed video + 1 story per week (4 videos, 4 stories) plus tracked link in bio for the whole month, including TikTok stories. Price on average views/engagement, not followers: ~5,000 views/video -> ~$200 for the month; bigger creators up to $4,000/month. After the month, raise/keep/lower pay based on the creator's tracked signups; strong performers go straight to a 3-month deal.

4 dedicated outreach hires plus the team send the same DM on TikTok and Instagram (100+/day, 1,000+/week). First line: 'Paid promo / affiliate deal?' then a short app pitch and fit with their content. On reply, ask for their number, move to WhatsApp/iMessage and call immediately. Two marketing managers (friends trained by the founder on his own playbook) run calls, deals, contracts, payment, code/link setup and the video guide; founder takes calls with bigger creators. Outreach hires are briefed on exactly which creators to target.

Search Instagram/TikTok for niche terms (gym, self-improvement, day in the life), open each creator profile, paste the template DM, send, repeat. Each account hits a rate limit around 100 DMs/day, so run multiple sender accounts; buy 1,000+ followers for each and get it verified so it looks legitimate. Team sent 500+ DMs/day at peak; 5,000-10,000+ creators contacted in total.